Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-04-27
MEXICAN GOLD.

A Region Of the United States Where It L.
an Unknown Quantity.
i md myself this morning in q novel
predictment, amusing, il one is philosoph-
lcal enough to look at tho amusing side
OF 1t, but at tho same time very annoying.
We are brought to halt here by q rail-
road wreck, and are likely to be detained
here for at least a day. have my family
with me, and naturally there are expenses
to pay. have in my pocket a number of
coins, made OF gold and bearing the stamp
OF the United States Government, in GER
tihcation Of their weight and hneness
These coins arc American 81 SO and so
gold pieces, and il 1 were in England or
Germany or Russia or India or anywhere
else in the world except right here in
Placquemine, La, should find my money
readily current at its nominal and actual
value. because the two are everywhere
known TO be identical
But here in Placquemine, La, q little
town whose people are direct descendants
OF Longfellow's Acadians, my American
gold is uncurrent money!
first encountered this state OF things
last night when offered gold to the porter
OF the Pullman car in payment for my
berths. That worthy politely refused il
on the ground that "that kind o. money
amt good out here, sab" demonstrated
with him, and told HIM that American gold
was worth its face every where, because
the gold in IL, merely as gold, Is worth the
amount Of very nearly the face value of
the piece. He was deaf to argument of
that kind, and so / expounded the law IL
him. and quoted the provision making the
gold coin Of the United States legal
tender in payment of ell debts
1t was equally useless. The porter
knew nothing about legal tender
laws or standards Of value, or any thing
Of the kind; he only knew, or thought
he knew, that gold coins were bad and un-
current money in this quarter Of the coun-
try, and he would have none of them. !
managed to scrape together enough silver,
eked out with nickels, to pay for the
berths, and decided in my own mind that
the porter must have got hold OF coun-
terfeit gold coin, and, finding il bad, must
have concluded that all gold was bad
money.
This morning have learned better. Find.
ing ourselves stopped here, ] ordered
breakfast from the buffet, and, after eat
ing, set out to have some OF my gold
changed into bills or silver at the shops of
the town Alasf the shop-keepers of the
place, even including the saloon men, were
hke-minded with the porter Ono and all
We're persuaded that gold was not good
nAohey, ano VIII one mind they refused "a
take it offered to "treat all roundn at
saloon II the bar-kecper would take five
dollar gold piece in payment and give me
change, but he declined 1 asked II the
genuineness Of my gold was doubted.
thinking that might be the trouble.
but l was assured that all gold was
refused in the town, and one man, a rner-
chant, told me he believed there had been
some Government action ON the subject
which made gold no longer Of any ac-
count" Finally, one man came to nv
rescue and gave me silver in return for q
nve dollar gold piece, saying that the gold
might perhaps, '.go for something In New
+ Orleans" he did it very much as he
might have given i've dollars to q human
being In distress, and / could see that he
had very little hope OF ever getting any
thing out Of the bright new gold piece
which had drawn . few days before from
the London and San Francisco bank. in
full faith that the gold coins Of my coun-
try were the best and surest possible TO
personalities Of value any where to be
found. am still without any explana-
ton Of the phenomenon, but It IL fact
worth recording, that American gold coin
y not current money IN Piscauemine. La.